Nakama
by ModernRomeo
Summary: Crossover with Naruto. Set after Valley of the End. Naruto killed Sasuke and inadvertantly failed the rescue mission. An unknown amount of time later he awakens on a ship that was passing by, not knowing how he got there.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing One Piece or Naruto-related. Though sometimes I wish I did...

"..."- Normal talking.

''- Communication with Kyuubi.

'...'-Thoughts

Chapter 1: So, where the hell am I and where are my pants?

"...should be awakening... not sure how long he... he's not a pirate..." The conversation sounded like an out-of-tune radio, picking up bits and pieces of words, and not the whole thing, though his body felt as though it was on fire, which judging from how badly he was sweating, it was. Slowly he opened his eyes, as they were quite sensitive to the light overhead, and he took notice of the closest thing to him. A reindeer with a blue nose, to be exact. And it talked, which made it even more unusual.

Being the human he was, he yelled "TONAKAI(1)!" while backing away very fast. However it seemed his body didn't want to cooperate as he experienced pain unlike any other, which caught him off guard. Usually he never felt pain, or if he did it was very minimum, as his body created a sorta painkiller that ran through his veins. He'd have to ask the bastard fox at a later date what was up. Currently the reindeer (which had been considerate about his pain) was tending to him, or so he presumed. He never cared much about the doings of medics, and never wanted to, as he hated needles and those who associated themselves with them.

"You should stay still, your body still hasn't recovered yet," it said, while doing who-knows-what with his medical bag, which magically appeared beside him, or maybe he just wasn't paying attention. The other person in his other conversation entered the room. He stood about six foot, with blond hair, which covered his left eye, and was smoking a cigarette, and dressed in a black suit which seemed to work for him, not that he cared.

"Ah, our guest is awake. I'll let the Captain know so we can figure out what to do with you," and just as quickly, he left, leaving the guest and his doctor-reindeer to themselves. Though it didn't last long as he entered the room again, this time following a slightly-shorter male, with black hair, a red vest, and a straw hat on his head.

"What's your name kid?" He was expecting the Captain to ask him how he was feeling, not what his name was, so he was caught off guard by his lack of manners. His subordinates however made it painfully obvious he was rude, with 2 large bumps on his head.

"Uzumaki Naruto," back home it was his curse, as everyone knew what he held within himself, but here, he felt no one knew him, so didn't feel the need to lie.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Luffy and welcome to Mugiwara (2) Pirate crew, this-" he was cut short by another set of bumps, from the reindeer and man in black.

"DON'T ASSUME HE'S ON THE CREW!" They both shouted, causing Naruto to sweat-drop slightly, these people were more terrifying than Sakura-chan back home. At this thought they turned to something more darker, more sinister than the current events.

He had killed the person he was sent after. All for a girl. He wanted to convince himself that it was an accident, that he didn't mean for it to happen, but he guessed Kyuubi either took control of his body fully, or his anger and rage was starting to rub off onto Naruto. Starting the mission he had the mindset that if he tried his hardest Sasuke would see the error of his ways and come back to Konoha. But he hadn't and thusly when they fought, Sasuke intended on killing Naruto to gain the most advanced form of the Sharingan, the Mangekyo. Naruto knew deep down that it was a battle of life and death. Only one would emerge victorious, not to mention alive.

However being the typical person he was, Naruto believed he could just knock Sasuke out and take him back, but failed when he was impaled on Sasuke's second Chidori. The battle had truly opened his eyes, on what was going on around him. No amount of defeats would cause Sasuke to have a change of heart if he wasn't obsessed with revenge, as the defeat would only drive him further away and attempt to beat his brother, in which he would fail. Naruto wasn't sure when, but he tapped into the Kyuubi's power at one point in the battle, as it was only fair as Sasuke was using the Cursed Seal, and Naruto knew he stood no chance against the enhanced Sasuke.

The fight was one that could be used as a story, and retold for many generations and never get old, and as all hero stories end, he emerged after slaying his friend, and in a way, his brother. But what the stories never elaborated about, was the guilt he felt afterwards, about killing another sentient human being, about killing his best friend. Never once did the fairy tales explain in detail the villains relationship with the hero, sometimes it was a random person, sometimes it was someone after revenge.

'**Emotions, yet another reason why humans are an inferior race. Demons have no need for them, as we prefer to just kill without abandon,**' It seemed that Naruto's 'tenant' had made himself known, though he was as good at conversation as a brick was.

'I was wondering when you would show your ugly mug, bastard fox. Tell me, where did you send me this time?' Naruto was not in the mood to bicker with the spirit-wannabe, and thusly wanted him to get straight to the point.

'**I do not know, though it seems the other humans are looking at you strangely, and sadly it's not because of your bad table manners,**' came the foxes witty retort.

Remember what Luffy had said before his little trip down Angst Avenue, he asked, "What makes you think I want to join your crew? And where the hell am I anyways?"

"Simple, I said you're on my crew!" Luffy said, a childish grin on his face. Everyone else (Naruto included), just sweat-dropped and shook their head as if to say "I can't believe he just said that."

Naruto opened his mouth to object, but was cut off, "Don't bother kid, once he makes up his mind, he won't change it. So I guess that means your stuck with us. I'm Sanji by the way and the reindeer who nursed you back to health is our resident doctor Tony Tony Chopper," the older blonde explained.

"Excuse me, but how in the world does a reindeer talk?" Naruto asked, pointing to said reindeer to let them know who he was referring to.

"I ate the Hito Hito No Mi (3) when I was a reindeer, when I lived on Drum Island," Chopper answered Naruto.

Not knowing what a Hito Hito No Mi was, he asked the reindeer-human.

"It's one of the Aku no Mi (4), though no one knows for sure where they came from. After eating one of the fruits you gain great power, but lose the ability to swim afterwards," Sanji answered for Chopper, who was now currently tending to Luffy's 'unfortunate' head injuries.

The door to the infirmary (which Naruto figured was his current room) opened and in stepped in (in Naruto's opinion) a very pretty lady with dazzling (if a little odd) light blue hair, and was wearing a rather form-fitting t-shirt with short cut-off pants. She looked over the motley crew of 2 men, a boy, and a reindeer before saying, "Tony-kun, it looks like you have another patient, Usopp-san seems to have provoked Zoro-san, for the 10th time," she said rather blandly, as though this happened everyday. Taking notice of Naruto, she blushed lightly, obviously berating herself inwardly for forgetting the newest member of the Mugiwara crew, "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Nefetari Vivi, nice to meet you," she introduced herself rather cheerily.

"Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you to," he introduced himself curtly. Something about this lady (possibly the hair) reminded him of Sakura-chan, but in a bad way. He didn't know what to think of it, except he needed to think. Being in (apparently) a new world, he would have to assume the worst, he would never be able to return, and even if he did, he would be hated for killing the final Uchiha that resided in Konoha. Even if he insisted it wasn't his fault, he would still be blamed and all he strove to achieve would be for naught. While his _Nindo_ (5) was to never give up, he didn't know what to think of his _Nindo_, being on a ship with pirates. That also would require some thinking (which he detested to an extent), mainly of how he would be a pirate, and being accepted for who he was by the rest of the crew. He could only hope the other members were as kind as Chopper, Vivi, and Sanji.

"Oi, kid. You look like you could use some sleep. I would suggest getting as much as possible, as we're near Vivi-chan's home country, Arabasta, and will arrive in about a day," Sanji informed him, being the only person left in the room with Naruto. He turned and walked towards what looked like a kitchen, and looked around in the cabinets, in case he had overlooked some food, the other times he had surgically searched the kitchen.

Seeing as he found nothing (for the 13th that day), Sanji pulled out a chair and sat in it, while fishing out a lighter from his pocket and lighting a cigarette. Taking a slow drag, he turned to Naruto, "Oi, kid. What's with those clothes? Never seen someone who wore clothes like yours, in either East Blue or North Blue," he asked the younger blonde.

Naruto thought it over for a minute, on what he should tell him. On one hand he could tell them he was a ninja, but that would bring up more questions, which could end up with asking him why he was floating in the middle of a sea. His first kill was still a fresh scar emotionally for him, wasn't something he wanted to talk about, or even think about, at the moment. However, he could do the opposite, and lie. These people didn't know a thing about him, and he could afford to be carefree, for now anyways. And he didn't have to worry about others exposing him, because to his knowledge, not one ninja he had ever met left the Elemental Continents in their life, unless you count that mission to Snow country...

His mind made up and a lie on his lips, he was about to explain he was tossed overboard in a freak storm, when the door opened and admitted a man about the size of Sanji, but with 3 earrings in his left ear and green hair. Naruto also noted he wore a large amount of green, pants, sash, bandanna, but noticed his shirt was white. He also noticed the man was dragging another body behind him and threw him onto the middle of the floor.

"Here you go Chopper," he said simply, indicating the semi-unconscious body laying on the ground.

"Ooh, the colors," the body moaned dazedly, oblivious to the surroundings.

"Zoro you shouldn't hit him because he's annoying!" Chopper admonished the green-haired man while tending to his new patients body.

"No fear Chopper! This is nothing compared the time I fought 500 Sea Kings in my underwear with nothing but a rubber band and a tea-kettle!" The 'patient' said standing up swiftly, boasting his achievement for all to hear.

"HONTO (6)!" The reindeer answered, his eyes creepily filling up with stars.

Taking notice of Naruto, the previous patient asked, "Um, who are you?"

Sanji quickly introduced Naruto to the newest additions to the room he resided in (though one would wonder how 8 people fit in a medium sized room without being cramped), "Uzumaki Naruto, the newest addition to the crew. And those two dim-wits are Usopp," he pointed to the previously-injured man, "and Zoro," he pointed to the green-haired man. Zoro merely scoffed at the dim-wit comment but said nothing more.

"Oh there you guys are. I was wondering why I couldn't find anyone on deck," came another voice, from (surprise) the door. This time in the form of another female crew member, with "assets" that were just below Tsunade-baa-chan (though he wouldn't admit it), and orange hair. At her entrance, Sanji seemed to be struck with something, and instantly rushed towards her, his one visible eye a creepy hear, and spewing lines like "NAMI-SWAN!" that made Gai and Lee's comments on "The fire of youth" seem like religious mantra. Naruto shuddered at the thought of hearing something more disturbing than those lines, and focused on the current events lest he be scarred even more for life.

"Oi, Sanji. I'm hungry, give me some meat," Luffy pipped up, distracting Sanji from his adoration-fest of the newest member of the medical room/kitchen/meeting room. Sanji, hearing Luffy speak turned towards him and told him (for apparently the 22nd time that day) that they had no food, and no meat, otherwise he would give them food. Zoro then made a comment about how he would only feed Nami and Vivi if they had food, and ignore the rest. This, obviously struck a chord with Sanji, who turned to the green-haired swordsman and started insulting him.

Just because fists were exchanged, and blood spilled, Nami hit both on the head rather harshly, telling them to knock it off. Of course Sanji immediately listened while Zoro insulted both Sanji and Nami under his breath, riling both up again, to start attacking him again. Everyone sans Naruto just laughed at the spectacle, while Naruto smiled sadly at the display and snuck out of the room unnoticed. He strode the length of the deck, heading towards the bow of the ship, where he leaned over the railing and stared into the inky darkness of the night.

It was a full moon, from the looks of it, as he looked up at the stars and the glowing orb of light. He took a deep breath, he was who knows where how far from his home, and it scared him. It was the first time he had stepped off of the Shinobi continent and he was wondering if the rescue team had informed the Godaime of the Uchiha's death, and his apparent defection. More than likely the council had declared him a S-rank missing-nin, totally obliterating his chances of becoming Hokage, his dream that kept him going for his entire life. He wondered if Sakura would be sad, now that her "Sasuke-kun" was dead, probably. She would be pissed if she found out it was Naruto who had done it, the person who took it upon himself to bring him back, no matter the cost.

"It's nice out tonight, isn't it?" A voice shook him from his revere, causing the ninja to turn his head to see who spoke. It was Luffy, who had a serious, sober look on his face. One of a man who had seen much in his life, and wished to tell others of it, and what not to do.

Turning towards the calm sea, Naruto answered, "Yes it is. Calming, truthfully."

Luffy joined him at the rails, looking intently over the sea, supposedly towards Arabasta. Minutes passed in silence, though Naruto was getting nervous about it. He knew Luffy had come to him for a reason, but he didn't know why.

Finally he spoke, "You miss your home."

Naruto didn't answer at first, even though he knew it was rhetorical. "Yes," he said simply.

Luffy scoffed at the answer, "Bullshit," this offended Naruto, but he continued, oblivious, "I saw the look in your eyes kid, you're glad you no longer have to be there. While you're not happy about your current placement, you would gladly take it as this is a chance to start over, with a clean slate."

Again, Naruto didn't answer right away, caught off-guard with how accurate Luffy's observation was.

Undaunted, he continued, "No matter what secret you hold, no matter what past you lived, we will not abandon you. Do not think otherwise. We have proven it time and again, that we stick with our nakama through thick and thin. We just wish for you to be comfortable with us first before explaining even the smallest bit about yourself," he pushed off of the railing, leaving a speechless Naruto staring blankly in the dark.

He had just been given a chance to live a live with people willing to lay their lives on the line for him, till they died. This was what he strode towards in Konoha, people who would accept him no matter what, and willingly lay they're lives and dreams on the line for him, for even the smallest of reasons. Tears slowly made their way down Naruto's face. It had been many years since he shed tears of sadness, and not once had he shed tears of happiness.

Composing himself quickly, he snapped to attention, saluting Luffy and shouting, "YES SIR!", causing the Straw Hat to scratch his head sheepishly, slightly embarrassed.

"Get some sleep, we'll arrive in Nanohana tomorrow," Luffy told him over his shoulder, while heading towards the Galley, supposedly to join the others.

Naruto nodded, his mind adjusting to the new twist Fate threw at him. 'These people. These kind of people I wish existed in Konoha, the kind of people I wish to protect till I die,' the newest announcement brought a smile to his face. It seemed he had just found a new dream to strive towards.

_His enemy thrust swiftly at his heart, intending on running him through with his glowing hand, however it was stopped when the intended victim grabbed his hand, and ran him through with his own glowing hand, swiftly ending his assailant's life. He had done it, the inevitable. He had killed his best-friend, plain and simple. Some would argue it was in self-defense, which it was, but most would gleefully state that they had been right in the fact he was _it_ despite others protests that he wasn't, never was, and never would become _it

_In his mind, he knew things might not have turned out like they did in his mind, or that's what he had hoped for anyways. To most he would give them the impression he'd go back straight after killing his best friend, just to spite everyone else, and continue with his self-proclaimed dream of becoming Hokage. However inside he knew there was no chance they would allow him to become Hokage. Even if he had protection and support from every ninja, both active and inactive, he knew inevitably the people would revolt, and either hire outside ninjas to assassinate him, or would attempt to do it themselves. They wouldn't be happy, and probably wouldn't stop until he was dead and his ashes spread throughout the far-reaches of the world, no matter how hard he tried. And inevitably they would succeed, as he wouldn't wish harm upon his own subjects, he cared to much about them, as did every Hokage before him. _

"**Cut the angst, weakling, it doesn't suit you,**" a voice broke through his trip down Depression Lane, causing a blonde boy look around in confusion in a large room with an even larger cage standing before him. "**Ah, the human finally decides to grace me with his presence, I feel so flattered**," sarcasm was the beasts best friend, or at least that's what he wished to give the impression.

"What do you want fur ball? You never call me to exchange witty banter, so get straight to the point," the blonde replied sharply, not in the mood for the foxes sarcasm or corner-cutting.

"**Exchanging witty banter with you is like Sasuke actually having a loving relationship with a fan girl of his. Painful, a waste of time, and not fucking happening,**" he retorted pointedly. "**As for you being here, well it's obvious isn't it? You wished to know why you're in your current location earlier, and I pondered on it and my knowledge of the geography, and have come to a conclusion,**" he announced with superiority when it came to the geography comment.

"Ok, so what do you want in return? Cause if it's asking for occasional control of my body, it ain't fucking happening, so you might as well keep that shit to yourself fur ball," he harshly said, venom seeping into his tone on his supposed 'requirement' for getting the information.

"**I'm offended, you seem to have mistaken me as someone with something to _gain_ from sharing this information. I have nothing to gain, or lose for that matter, with this information, and am offering to give it for free, from the goodness of my heart, nonetheless,**" he replied haughtily, giving the impression he really _was_ offended by the blonde's comment.

"You, do something good with no strings attached _and_ have a heart? Bullshit," the blonde spat, not believing a word that the fox had spoken.

"**Yes, it is quite hard to believe that someone like me would actually care for something other than existing long enough to decimate the pathetic village you just fled from, very hard indeed. Especially since I saved your sorry ass against that traitor, not to mention numerous other times where your death was inevitable, very hard indeed,**" again, the fox flexed his sarcasm muscle (if there ever was such a thing), obviously taking much offense to the blonde's unneeded attacks on his (seemingly good) character.

"Tell me what caused your sudden change of heart? Months ago you would have simply sent me back to my dreams, and not bother with this invigorating banter," he replied, attempting to be sarcastic with the last few words, and failing badly.

"**For starters, your sarcasm was pitiful at best, if you're going to be sarcastic, then learn from the master, me. And despite popular belief, I'm not hellbent on taking over your pitiful body, Kami knows where it's been,**" he shuddered at the thought, "**However, that doesn't mean you will see me crying over your dead body, actually I'd be the first person dancing on your grave, Kami knows how much of an unbearable container you are. First with your _horrible_ fashion sense, then your idiotic outlook on life (which as come close to getting you killed numerous times), and finally your pitiful, ignorant dream, thinking that everyone will accept you if you become Hokage. Ha, how pathetic can you truly get? Just because you're the best at something doesn't mean people will like you for it, more times than not they will despise you, simply because you're better than them. Add to the fact every civilian assumes you're _me_ (which is embarrassing, truthfully. I mean anyone with _eyes_ would clearly see how much of an idiot you are), and you have the perfect combination for a truly idiotic container for the most powerful (and currently ashamed) demon lord to grace this planet.**"

"You know, you are so full of a shit, it's not funny. But, I can't exactly deny any of those charges, as they are 100 true... Or were anyways," the blonde didn't retaliate like the fox had expected, shocking him considerably.

"**What do you mean, 'were'?**" he questioned

"Well, if said things _were_ true, I would have interrupted you, or thrown a temper tantrum, no?"

The fox was silent for a minute, then spoke, "**I believe the title of 'Number One Most Surprising Ninja' fits you well, Uzumaki Naruto. You are correct in the point you _would_ have done said things, and have surprised me, however don't let it go to your head. I'm not a 1000 year old demon for nothing, and you have quite a way to truly gaining my trust, but, you've made a nice dent in the required distance of doing so. But back to my original intention of bringing you hear, where and how you got here,**" Naruto nodded, indicating for the fox to continue, "**Okay, after extensive thinking of possibilities including things you've never heard of, and would never understand, I've come to the conclusion that you _aren't_ on another planet, or in another world, or universe for that matter. You're still on the same planet, however no where close to the Elemental Continents.**"

"So in other words, it's possible for them to send Hunter-Nin's after me, and those creepy Akatsuki guys, correct?" he questioned.

"**Yes, and no,**" seeing Naruto raised a questioning eyebrow (**When had this child grown up, and where was I?**), he explained, "**Yes, it is possible for them to send those Hunters and the Cultists, however it's not likely for quite a while.**"

"How then? There's more that you're not telling," Naruto snapped.

"**Okay, I'll give you a briefing on basic geography for this world. Where we currently are is a strip of ocean humans refer to as the Grand Line. However it's different than most oceans, while most are predictable, the Grand Line isn't. It can be looking like the Apocalypse one minute, then the next it's calm and peaceful. Now, on both sides (North and South) of the Grand Line, is another strip of ocean, known as the Calm Belt, which as the name implies, is always calm. There is no wind blowing on the Calm Belt, making it ideal for weeding out the weaklings, and protecting others on the Calm Belt. To my knowledge, there are very few islands on the Calm Belt, and seeing as it hasn't been invaded by so-called pirates, or even visited, I can deduce that it resides on the Calm Belt. As for how you got to your current location, your guess is as good as mine, there is no wind, and the technique's weren't strong enough to warp you in some remote ocean over 1000 miles away.**"

"This is kinda hard to believe, and I still don't believe you have a heart, or can do some good, but I'll think it over. Who knows, maybe this will turn out to be a misunderstanding and we'll become bestest buddies," Naruto commented after the lecture, though he was grateful for the enlightening.

The fox chuckled at his sarcasm, then replied, "**Once again, you live up to your title of 'Most Surprising Ninja', though we should change it to pirate, no? I mean, you did give up on being a ninja rather quickly, without thinking, like you usually do. But, after considering your options, it was the lesser of two evils, and probably the only chance you'll get to start life over with people ignorant of my existence,**" he concluded, faking a yawn. "**But I think it's time you emerge in the world of the reality, Uzumaki Naruto, as I do need to catch up on my sleep you stole.**"

"Whatever...Bastard fox," he muttered as he was awoken and noticed he was in the Galley, on the medical bed Chopper tended to him at. "Guess they found me sleeping on the deck this morning. Speaking of them, where the hell are they?"

Hours passed and Naruto found himself to an older clone of his captain.

"So, you're the captains older brother?" he asked incredulously.

"Yep. Portgas D. Ace, nice to meet ya," he replied politely. "Who, may I ask, are you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," the blonde answered nicely, not quite believing Luffy had an older brother with _manners_ of all things.

"Ace! You want to join my crew?" Luffy called out from across the deck, making the captains lack of manners glaringly obvious.

"Baka! You asked me that already!" he shouted, shaking his head sadly at being related to the captain.

"I just figured you'd changed your mind and was too nervous to change your answer," the captain replied dumbly, scratching his head nervously.

Ace just shook his head sadly, "I know he can be a pain, but take care of my brother for me. He can be somewhat of a dimwit," at this he looked at Luffy, who was somehow choking on a bone with meat still attached to it, "and a burden at times."

"Will do," Naruto replied, before Vivi cried out that Billion's ship was blocking their path.

Ace took that as his cue to leave, and jumped over the railing, landing on his small raft-ship. "Don't worry about them, I'll take care of them," he called up to Naruto and the others.

Without waiting for a response, his ship took off, playing a pseudo game of Chicken with the Billion's ships (there was 5 blocking their path). Jumping suddenly, he did various acrobatic moves and landed on his ship behind the the fleet, before unleashing his trade-mark move.

"HI-KEN (7)!" he shouted, a large blast of fire erupting from his fist, and pierced not one, not two, but all five of the Billion's ship, obliterating them and everyone on board.

Everyone on the Going Merry stood in shock at the show of power. They had heard he was powerful (except Naruto of course), but they didn't expect him to be **that** powerful. Guess it proved his standing as White-Beards 2nd Fleet Commander.

After re-boarding the ship, Ace retreated to a secluded rail on the bow of the ship, while everyone else went to various other parts of the ship to relax as they wouldn't arrive at Elumaru until the morning.

Naruto leaned against a segment of railing on the stern, admiring the calmness of the sea, and wondering how he lived without seeing the sea even once. When he was in Wave Country, there wasn't much to look at, with it being considerably cold, creating a mist over the sea, blocking the sight. Snow country was similar, however instead of a mist, it was a snow storm, unsurprisingly. Now, however, he had an untainted view of the sea, and for once in his life, things started to look positive, both presently, and in the near-future.

Morning came, and they could clearly see the other side of the Sandora river, meaning Elumaru was not far from there. However, they ran into a few minor problems.

Problems in the shape of oddly-formed sea-creatures. Usopp, thinking they were pathetic, jumped down eagerly, intent on taking it down. Less than a second later, a badly beaten Usopp lay at the feet...err _fin_ of the creature. Vivi took that chance of humility (who in their right mind got their ass kicked by a less-intelligent creature? Well, besides the whole Tora-Trauma incident...) to explain about Kung-Fu Dugongs.

Luffy being Luffy decided to avenge his fallen comrade, and by the time it took Vivi to finish her lecture (a whole 20 seconds), Luffy had bested all the sea-critters, who looked a lot like the "Youthful" Duo back in Konoha. After some translating courtesy of Chopper, and losing more than half their food supplies (as a bribe to have the Dugongs not follow them), they made their way towards Elumaru, where they were all shocked (except Vivi) to see what lay ahead...

1: Reindeer

2: Strawhat

3: Man-Man Fruit

4: Devil's Fruit

5: Way of Ninja

6: Really?

7: Fire Fist

A/N: So how was it? Good? Bad? Give me your opinion, and feel free to flame away. It'll give me the drive to make this better.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: After many months, and god knows how many drafts, I've finally finished a 2nd chapter to Nakama. Yes, I realize I posted one in October of 06, but after reading it, I found it, to be truthful, shitty and not up to a level of quality I found acceptable. So, for the last two months, or so, I've worked around the clock (quite literally at times) trying to write up one that met my standards for quality. I probably ended up writing 5-6 drafts, which were scrapped as quickly as I typed 5-6k words for them, and very little from them made it into the final version. Long story short, here's chapter 2, and chapter 3 is well underway. Also, if you remember anything about chapter 2 (I don't, cause I deleted all copies off my hard-drive), this is completely different, and the plot in that chapter was scrapped. So I'll stop rambling and let you get to the real chapter 2. :)

---

What shocked them wasn't what they saw, but the lack thereof. What lay in front of them was the obvious ghost of a proud-town, that was as bone-dry as the skeletons that littered it. Houses, other buildings, even the trees looked submerged in sand, some more than others. While sand wasn't new to the country of Arabasta, never had it devoured an entire town, and in just a few years since Vivi had left. It was plain as day that the situation at hand was more dreadful than she anticipated, and a fire to destroy Crocodile was burning more fiercely than when she started her mission. He had to be stopped, no matter the costs. That much, was certain.

The Strawhats seemed to take it even harder than the young princess, as they'd never witnessed such a cataclysmic event in their life, very fewer had seen this much sand, so it was equally surprising just how much of it took to cover and destroy one town. It almost made the task at hand look minuscule compared to the power and ferocity Mother Nature contained, though it didn't deter their drive to right things, and make this town prosperous again, no matter how long it would take.

Naruto stood still for a minute, trying to comprehend what lay before him. It was once someones pride and joy, and now, it was nothing, not even the vultures visited, nor did any plants grow, giving it a true feeling of desolate. Even the trees looked like they would rather be somewhere else, though many seemed to be dying from the significant lack of water. It stirred something deep within him, that seemed strangely...familiar to the teen, though new at the same time.

"**Even demons tremble at the might of Mother Nature, for it was she who birthed us, and she who will destroy us. While it was true some demons were known for mastery of the elements, she has control of the entire planet, and is capable of stripping us of our powers, and we would be but babes in her presence**," his demon lamented within him, startling him at the somberness of the tone.

'What's with you fox?'

"**Nothing, brat. Just remembering something long forgotten. It's been so long since I last witnessed such a devastating event, without having been the cause of it, and it made me remember that while I might be able to destroy countries in my regular body, I'm weak and defenseless stuck in an ungrateful brat like you,**" he taunted the blonde while admitting something that made him falter. Mostly at the thought that the fox actually seemed _human_.

"**Human? Don't even **_**think**_** such a thing. I would not be caught dead as a human being, worthless and weak as you are.**"

'But you forget you're _stuck_ in the body of a human, bastard. So you more or less _are_ human, whether you like it or not,' Naruto shot back.

"**No. I might be stuck in the body of a worthless piece of carbon, but I'm not human. For one thing, **_**I**_** don't go running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, while wearing **_**orange**_** of all damn colors,**" that struck a chord deep in Naruto, and he was quick to retort.

'Yeah well at least I'm not covered in fur, bastard!'

"**Urge...to destroy world...rising,**" Kyuubi muttered, while twitching as though he were suffering a seizure. Taking that as a bad sign, Naruto quickly snapped back into reality, while he could clearly hear the fox rationalizing motive to kill Naruto. After hearing something related to a spoon and a water bottle he willed his body to move so he wouldn't be tempted to lose his sanity trying to figure out how such a thing was physically possible.

A skull lay on a mound of sand underneath a palm tree, the tree futilely trying to protect it from the harsh sun but failing, judging from the off-white the bone was. Feeling a twinge of sympathy, something he thought was related to Kyuubi, he walked over to it and sighing, decided to give it a proper burial. It's body might be food for the vultures but there was no reason that they didn't deserve a decent burial, even if all their bones were far and between.

The others watched him the entire time, and afterwards continued watching him, as he wandered through the ghost-town, burying the stray bone he stumbled across, until he felt there were no bones not laid to rest, returning the everyone else who, unbeknownst to him, done the exact same thing while he was gone.

---

"**Why did you do that? What could have possessed you to do such a thing?**" Kyuubi was trying to be reasonable with the blonde, he truly was. Well, ignoring the fact he'd tortured Naruto with images deemed "perverted" and made comments to add to the image, both literally and figuratively, he was trying to be reasonable. As reasonable as a fox-demon can get, mind you.

'I thought it was a good idea, I mean, it was this, or let someone else wander across it,' Naruto defended his actions, though he failed to see the flaw in his logic. Kyuubi didn't think the same way as Naruto, and was thusly wrong, at least as far as Naruto was concerned.

"**And what, pray tell, would someone get from eating a Devil Fruit, that **_**does nothing but make you feather-light**_" He couldn't say he didn't try and keep his temper in check, however it was the matter of the fact. The blonde had all the power of a demon-lord at his fingertips, and he decides, on a whim, to devour a fruit that not only could have been poisonous, as Kyuubi never saw a melon-like fruit that was colored purple with red swirls, but could kill him as well.

'You never know, it might grant more than making me feather-light. Plus, it might not be that bad, since it'd let me jump higher, and run faster, by theory anyways,' Naruto hadn't spent the last few weeks just walking around in the desert hoping to get to Rainbase, he had actually spent a good amount of time training the least likely of things; his mind. At first he was skeptical, but the more he talked with Kyuubi, who seemed more interested in the world than destroying humans, the more he realized how nice it was, how...invigorating it felt.

All his life he had been ostracized and discriminated because of a burden he held, however he would just smile and shrug it off, but now that he could think clearly without it hurting his head, and with it attempted to put his past behind him. The most significant thing was the sneers and threats he had received growing up, though they never affected him much and were surprisingly the easiest things to come to terms with, though he felt he was giving up on his friends in Konoha, which was against his nindo and he refused to let such a petty thing tarnish it.

"**Why must you drag me into your angst moments brat? I **_**was**_** having a nice dream including your head on a pike you know...**"

'I...need your advice on something,' Naruto and the Kyuubi might have talked more than usual, for a variety of reasons, but they were far from "chummy" and "friends", though they weren't considered enemies, but more of rivals. They agreed on some things, discussed others, and argued on whatever else they didn't agree on or discuss, though they seemed content that they could do it civilly, Kyuubi more so than Naruto. So it was a surprise that Naruto would ask the fox for advice as the last time it happened, Kyuubi suggested he mark Vivi as his "mate" to "ward away potential takers" and caused his vessel to go into a seizure-like fit after being shown various images of the older girl, in things that left nothing to the imagination.

"**What exactly?**"

'Konoha... I want to forget all about that place, to forget all the bad memories and start anew with Luffy and the others. But I feel that if I do, I'll be breaking my nindo and you know how I feel about that...'

Kyuubi sighed, something he found himself doing often. In all honesty, he found the boy to be an interesting spectacle, since he had kept to his word and adapted quite well to the new environment; not to mention he grew mentally that surprised him, as the boy always had something he wanted Kyuubi's opinion on, whether it be a petty thing such as Naruto being a pirate, to something big like Crocodile's grip on Alabasta and possible actions to take against him. He also held the record for the one human he wouldn't mind gutting like a fish, though at times he rather enjoyed the boys presence, as it gave him another chance to see the world he once revered before indulging in his ultra-violent tendencies.

"**Your 'nindo', if you could call it that, is a waste of time. 'I don't give up cause it's my nindo!'? Bullshit. There's no reason to limit yourself to such a blanket statement. What if you were captured by the enemy and tortured for information? Would you be spouting your 'nindo' till they killed you? What if you were captured by those Cultists? What would you do then, while they were extracting me from your body?**" it was rhetoric, and Naruto knew it, so he sat, mentally, to think about his options.

'So what do you think I should do? Forget about ever returning to Konoha, and focus on what I have right now?'

"**I cannot make those decisions for you, as you already know. All I can do is give you advice on what you might do. Any decision you make, you live with forever, and only you can bear the burden that comes with your decision.**"

'I know...I just wanted a perspective from an outside spectator, that's all. Since I lack experience in these sorts of things, I need to get an idea on what it looks like through the eyes of other people that might not be affected by it.'

Minutes passed in silence, while outside it was the same amount of time. Naruto had taken to watching over the camp on the first night-shift, while Zoro and then Sanji would follow afterwards. It was paranoid of them, but Naruto's experience, or lack thereof, as a ninja told him that while they hadn't run into any problems sent by Crocodile, that they should expect him to try and eliminate them either close to Rainbase, or in it. Since he'd awakened on their ship almost a month ago, he had told them a little about himself, mostly about his time as a ninja, treading carefully around his skills and other talents he might have. He wasn't embarrassed by his skills, but he didn't know how he would explain the whole chakra-deal, since even Kyuubi didn't understand how it worked if it wasn't stemming from a Devil Fruit.

Kyuubi was another thing he decided not to inform them about, though it was more of trying to explain it coherently than anything. He wouldn't doubt they would still be behind him one-hundred percent after finding it out, but without knowledge of how the seal worked, and chakra worked, it might be a while before he could tell them. But if they brought it up, he knew he wouldn't lie, since he knew he had to be honest towards them if he expected the same, and he intended to do so.

'If what Vivi says is true, we'll arrive in Rainbase tomorrow, not sure on the time though. And if we do get there tomorrow, we should expect to be chased after by Billions and maybe, Millions. I don't see them attacking us near the city, as it could look bad for his image, plus he can't afford to let us blow our cover. So I expect him to track us in town, and after that, I don't know. What do you think, furball?'

Kyuubi was silent a moment, thinking over what the blonde had repeated for the last week straight. The trip through the desert took longer than he would have thought, but then he realized that all maps are drawn to a scale, so the cartographer probably thought the same thing at first.

"**Decent deduction. Since we know very little aside from what the blue-haired girl has told us, it would pass, however you forgot about the numbered agents and their female partners. He could send a few after us and you'd all be screwed without knowledge of their techniques and fighting styles. Then again, even if you fought the agents she's told you of, there's a chance you'd still lose since she wasn't ranked that high in the organization, and wouldn't know all the agents,**" reprimanding Naruto for such a trivial mistake, Kyuubi told the blonde his shift was over, and Naruto looked up to see Zoro standing above him, shaking him awake.

"Shift over?" he asked hopefully, though it was a rhetorical question, Zoro didn't know it however.

"Yeah, go to sleep Naruto, we're gonna need all need sleep before getting to Rainbase," the green-haired man told the young teen, who nodded and went over to his tent, where he curled up and promptly fell asleep.

---

It was mid-afternoon that they reached Rainbase, though Naruto felt they didn't reach it fast enough but kept it to himself. He knew everyone detested the heat as much as him, but he felt that voicing it would only get on their nerves, or at least a couple people's nerves. Most notably Nami's, and he had little interest in getting a concussion from her punches, watching her wallop Usopp and Luffy was enough to deter even the most confident of men, and he wasn't sure his fruit could save him.

After seeing Luffy shout for Crocodile to come out of the town to fight him, Naruto started to feel anxious for what was going to happen. He usually wasn't one for picking fights, well not as much as he did when he was younger, but he was itching to test his strength against the followers of Crocodile and ran his hand down the handle of the pistol he had pilfered from the ruins of Yuba, where he'd taken an interest in the weapon. They were definitely something he'd never seen in his time in Konoha, and he was certain no one else knew about them and their existence, and it made him giddy to think what kind of destruction he could cause with it.

By this time he had realized that over the years Kyuubi's seal was "leaking", giving excess chakra to Naruto to absorb into his body, and on occasion it influenced his growth mentally, though he never worried about it, since without a technique or weapon, it was useless since everything he touched "duplicated" his Devil Fruit ability, making it a handy defensive technique, but pointless in combat. Finding the pistol had made him wonder if the ability would extend to bullet when it was shot, and after a few tests far away from the other Strawhats, since he hadn't told them of his Devil Fruit yet, he found that the bullet would take on the properties as being feather-like until it left the barrel of the gun, during which it would become quite solid, pleasing the blonde as he finally found a way to fight, until he could find a way of superseding his Devil Fruit ability without revealing a weakness.

As the Strawhats walked through Rainbase, going towards Crocodile's casino Rain Dinners, though they stopped near a shady spot when Usopp and Luffy said they were going to get everyone water, and Naruto sat near the tree, keeping an eye out on the alleyways in case someone was keeping an eye on him. And not surprisingly, there were a total of five Millions watching them from windows and alleys.

"There's five Millions watching us, but from the looks of things, they were assigned as scouts, not assassins," he whispered softly, but loud enough for the others around him to hear, "Don't look around and try and find them. They might have orders to kill if they're noticed, and the less trouble we run into getting to Rain Dinners, the better," he continued, watching Vivi intently as she tried to find them but stopped at his warning.

"**Actually there's seven Millions, two of them saw you when you arrived here but left, probably to report to their superiors,**" Kyuubi pipped up.

'Well, I was more focused on making sure no one was following us, and not on who left in our wake,' Naruto retorted, making Kyuubi snort. Well, as much as a demonic-fox can snort anyways.

"**Still, seven Millions is a rather low number, especially for a group like yours. But maybe this Crocodile has a bigger plan for you guys? Maybe he wants to push you towards Rain Dinners, so that he might have a better chance of killing you?**" the fox wondered aloud, clearly stating that he didn't know what the purpose of seven Millions was.

'Maybe he did it because their expendable. I mean it's not like you can't find any down-on-his-luck pirate or disgraced Marine or even a bum and convince them to fight for your cause. And you gotta remember the number of Billions that Ace deep-fried when we got to Nanohana, so he might be a little short-staffed and has to use his cannon fodder,' Naruto paused a second, 'Of course, it goes without saying that after we're done here, he's gonna be a bit more short-staffed, if I have anything to say about it.'

Kyuubi chuckled, though it felt more like an earthquake, "**And how, dare I ask, do you plan on doing that when you hit softer than a girl?**"

'I'll figure that out when I cross that street,' Naruto waved him away, when he felt someone approaching rather fast, jumping to his feet in time to see Luffy and Usopp run past their group, which strangely lacked Chopper, and were being chased by a group of Marines. As he rushed past the Marines, who seemed surprised at his speed, he saw groups of Millions look up and, apparently, compare them to a paper held in their hands, making him curse his captains lack of intelligence, though the Millions attacking might cause enough confusion to the Marines and could force Crocodile's hand sooner than he expected.

"**Intelligent deduction, since I doubt even he could predict you being chased this far by Marines. But don't expect him to lose because of a minor oversight, it'd take more to topple someone like him,**" Kyuubi praised him on the theory, but pointed out significant flaw in the logic.

Deciding to ignore replying, Naruto ducked into a back-alley to catch his breath and allow him the chance to sneak past Millions and Marines to get to Rain Dinners, but it seemed he'd ducked into a back-alley that held a small group of Millions, four in total, who looked like Christmas had come early for them. In reality it hadn't come for them, but Naruto, who reached back to pull his pistol from his belt, however it was stopped short as the Millions opened fire on the blonde, expecting to see him fall to the ground dead, but were shocked to see the bullets hit his chest, and fall harmlessly towards the ground.

"Heh, is that it? I would expected better from you Millions, but apparently you're not as good as I expected," Naruto commented arrogantly, gripping his pistol and running towards the Millions, who tried to shoot him again but were confused when he disappeared from their sight. "Heh. Not even competent enough to search for your opponent after they disappear. Well now I won't feel bad about what I'm going to do," with that they heard the sound of a pistol being fired, turning to see the Millions farthest from Naruto fall to the ground, missing part of his throat as he grasped it while blood was gushing out before succumbing to the blood-loss and dying.

Staring at their fallen comrade in shock, they attempted to flee but heard three consecutive shots, and fell down, bleeding from their throats as Naruto fled the scene, as no doubt someone heard the shots and would investigate. Killing wasn't something he was fond of, but he knew it was him or them, and he choose to stay alive, so killing was essential for his, and his nakama's, protection, since he didn't know if they would come after them and try and get revenge.

'Better safe than sorry, eh fox?'

"**Whatever helps you sleep at night, brat.**"

---

"Hm, what do we have here? Looks like some Millions got lost and decided to take their frustration on a poor defenseless girl," Naruto called, getting the large groups attention, while Vivi stood in the middle trying to figure out what the boy was up to. She wasn't ungrateful for his help, but she didn't know what he was capable of, and he might be worth more trouble than she can handle. "I'll tell ya what. If I beat all of ya, you leave with your tail between your legs, like true dogs, and your lives. If you manage to beat me, we'll come with ya quietly to meet your boss. How about it?"

Instead of answering with words, they answered with gunshots, deafening Vivi who tried to tell Naruto to get away and leave her to deal with them, but it was for naught. As the bullets connected with his body, they bounced off harmlessly and landed on the ground, while the Millions stood confused on what happened.

"Oh? You guys are choosing to give me a freebie? How nice of ya," gunshots and screams of pain filled the air as Naruto unloaded his pistol into the crowd, each bullet connecting and taking down a Millions, and pilfering another pistol for ammunition when his ran out. After the first few shots they snapped out of their muddled state and tried to escape, but it was futile as his bullets connected, no matter how far they seemed to be. A full two minutes of chaos passed until no Millions was standing, though they didn't seem fatally wounded, which meant that Naruto didn't intend to kill them, but instead leave their own survival in their own hands.

"Come on Vivi, lets get out of here before the Marines get here-" he stopped mid-sentence to tackle the older girl to the ground, in time to avoid something swooping down on them, getting up and pointing two pistols at the potential assailant. He was stopped from pulling the triggers when Vivi ran to embrace the falcon-man, who he guessed she knew since he didn't make an attempt to harm the young lady, putting Naruto at ease. Any words they might have exchanged were interrupted by the three being covered in arms, which disarmed them of any weapons and forced them to the ground.

"I must thank you, boy, for helping me locate Princess Vivi, and for staying in one-spot so I may escort her," a haughty female voice called out, making Naruto and the others to turn and face a women who stood behind the bodies of the Millions he'd downed, though she looked smug over the fact she caught them so easily.

"So what do you plan to do with us now that you've caught us? You can't be thinking you can take us both on, as that'd just be suicide for you," Naruto called out arrogantly, watching the woman laughed softly at his comment.

"Silly boy, you don't realize how easily I could break your neck-"

"Then do it, if you think you have the upper hand. Or are you all talk and no walk, like everyone else in this town?" Naruto interrupted rudely, while Vivi tried to dissuade his choice of words, not wanting to see the boy die.

"Fine then, if it pleases you I shall kill you. _Tres Flor_," she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest as three arms sprang from Naruto's body and grabbed his neck roughly. "_Tsuisuto!_" on cue a shot rang out, barely grazing the woman's arm as she watched in shock as Naruto stood up, brushing the arms away as they tried to claw at him. "How?" she asked him fearfully.

"You failed to notice that I wasn't the only one begging for release, or even trying to escape and free the hands. Mostly because they were useless from the moment they appeared on my body, making me nigh-un-killable by our ability," Naruto told her bluntly, subtly insulting her intelligence that she was bested by someone half her age. "Now that I know what you can do, you cannot win against me," he was interrupted by a pistol shot, though the bullet bounced harmlessly off his body.

"It also means you cannot win against me, doesn't it," she challenged him.

"You would be correct on guessing that from not even knowing or understanding my ability," another shot rang out, this time she had aimed at Vivi, though Naruto seemed unaffected and merely touched her before the bullet touched her body. Surprisingly, to the woman and everyone else but Naruto, the bullet bounced off harmlessly as it did to him moments earlier.

"You're ability is pure-defense, and you're capable of transferring it to anyone you touch," she deducted.

"Incorrect. It can only be used for defensive-purposes at the current time. There are, no doubt, offensive possibilities, however I have yet to find any, hence the pistol," Naruto informed her, indicating the weapon in his hand.

"Then you're capable of transferring it to inanimate objects as well then?" she questioned, hoping to buy time and figure out a possible weakness. She prided herself in her intelligence, and having a chance to use it in battle, was invigorating, however she was drawing a blank without knowing more of his ability.

"I'm capable of _sharing_ the ability with anything I touch, whether I choose to or not. I cannot give it to another person, but so long as I am physically touching them, they will have the same ability as me," he corrected her, while aiming his pistol at her and pulling the trigger. A click was heard, but no bang that came with the pistol being expelled, indicating it was empty, making Naruto and toss it to the ground, while he looked around for another one.

"You could leave at any time, and I couldn't stop you, but you don't. Why?" she inquired, not understanding his motives. He could also kill her, by just wearing her down, but he choose to stand and do nothing, while she did as well, being incapable of harming him.

"Because, I was chosen to take care of her in the stead of everyone else, and I intend to finish the job. You can't leave because you came here for her, and you can't leave as Crocodile will be livid. But you can't complete your objective without defeating me, which as you know, can't happen," the blonde concluded. He sighed, stewing over what options he had. He could attempt to defeat her in combat, but after that, then what? A sinking feeling told him that Crocodile didn't care whether she lived or died, as she was going to die before the war was over, probably due to Crocodile killing her. But going with her could lead him and Vivi both into a trap, something he didn't want to do...

'What do you think, fox?'

"**Go with her. You would end up in Rain Dinners eventually as it is, so this will do nothing to surprise you, though I dare say the girl will object to it. Rather annoying, that one is.**"

'Yeah, she is, but you can't blame her, she cares a lot for her country and doesn't want anyone to die in this war. But, she'll eventually learn her methods are wrong, and I'm not gonna change 'em for her cause she does a better job than me.'

"**Oh? You're not suited for a position of leadership? Whatever happened to your dream of becoming Hokage?**"

Naruto mentally shrugged, 'If I had stayed a ninja and stayed in Konoha, it's possible it might have happened, however as it stands now, I wouldn't be able to deal with the monotony. Paperwork day in, day out, with no real missions to distract me would cause me to go insane from boredom, even if the people of Konoha accepted me.'

Breaking the conversation, he walked over to Vivi and the man who had come to their rescue, or tried to anyways. Vivi looked up to ask him something but he silenced her with an upheld hand.

"We're going with her to Crocodile," his tone left no opportunity to argue, though it was clear she wanted to. Her guard did as well, but Naruto ignored his attempts to persuade him. "You, are not coming with us, as you'd be killed on-sight. I, while in a similar boot, _can't_ be killed by conventional methods, as you no doubt saw, which is why you're not going with us," it looked as though he wanted to argue more, Naruto cut him off. "You're staying, either because your conscious, or you're not. It doesn't matter to me either way, so make your choice," he shut up after that comment, though he didn't look pleased.

Naruto knew he would tail them, though he didn't care, as he could be of some use in escaping, if the situation asked for it. Turning to his female opponent, he addressed her. "We are willing to go with you unarmed and without resistance, unless of course, your orders state otherwise. If that is the case, then I'm afraid you won't be going back to Rain Dinners with us." If she was intimidated by the threat she didn't show it, nodding and disarming them with her ability while Vivi wondered what he had planned.

---

"Ah, Ms. All-Sunday, Mis. Wednesday, how nice of you to-," he was interrupted mid-sentence by the sound of a pistol being discharged, it's target evident by the hole in Crocodile's face, though he didn't seem fazed by it, or even in any pain. It was expected since his face was reconstructing itself with sand, much to the surprise of everyone in the room, sans Naruto and Ms. All-Sunday, though she looked at the boy curiously, wondering what possessed him to shoot someone who could kill him without a thought.

"Suna suna no mi, correct?" he asked Crocodile, relaying words Kyuubi had told fed him. It was Kyuubi who told him to fire on Crocodile, and Kyuubi who analyzed the fruit, even if Naruto couldn't kill him, he could still buy enough time to figure out a weakness that could be used against him. Naruto noticed the water surrounding the room outside, and suggested they break the glass and flood the room, but Kyuubi shot it down by saying his captain and other crew-mates were held in a cage in the same room.

Crocodile chuckled at the question, "You're a very foolish boy, blondie. Do you want me to kill you? Is that why you shot me? To wish for your death to come faster?" another shot rang out, though if it's target was Crocodile, it was way off. The bullet was less than an inch from a window behind Crocodile, making him turn slowly and look at the bullet-hole in shock.

"Answer the question, or you'll find out what happens when you introduce water to sand, Crocodile," that wasn't a tactic fed to Naruto by Kyuubi, but something the blonde did on his own. He was curious on something he had seen at the lakes around Konoha, when he was training with Jiraiya. Something about the water had captured him and he recalled seeing some sand beneath the rocks surrounding the rock, noting it's density but thought nothing of it since he didn't think it was anything significant. Now, however, he noted the difference between wet and dry sand. Dry sand was easier to move, and felt smoother, whereas wet sand was coarser, and harder to move due to it sticking together.

"Ch, you're a cocky boy, aren't you. What makes you think that you would defeat me by flooding this room?"

"I don't think I could, however, you know you can't win with a flooded room, at least, not against me," Crocodile merely disappeared from his sight in a cloud of sand, making him scan the room for him.

"Too slow, brat," the Shichibukai muttered, grabbing Naruto by his face and attempting to crush it barehanded, noting that Naruto's skull felt like steel. Grabbing Crocodile's arm, he attempted to free himself from his grasp, but failed to when he felt something draining from his body, thinking nothing of it until his throat felt extremely dry, his eyes widening in shock. "You feel it, don't you? The power of the desert, as it drains all life from it's surroundings, killing everything but itself, while you're helpless to even raise your head and defy it. I bet-" he was interrupted, by Naruto managing to free himself from Crocodile's grasp, and launching himself behind the mans desk, where he stood the walls.

Jumping off the walls, much to the surprise of everyone in the room aside from Crocodile, he aimed his pistol at the window fired, breaking the glass and causing water to gush into the room, shocking everyone at the boldness and stupidity of the move, though Naruto paid no heed to it. Nearing the ceiling of the large room, he kicked off it, shooting towards Crocodile who lazily raised his right hand to catch the blonde with his sand-ability, though he walked into Naruto's plan. Reaching inside his shorts he extracted a bottle of water, and made to throw it but was stopped mid-throw by arms growing out of his body and preventing it from being thrown. He wasn't deterred by the act, however, and opted not to throw the bottle, instead landing on the bottom steps on the stairs leading into the room, not fazed by the show of power.

"Well well, it looks like little missy decided to protect her employer from certain doom. And to think, I was going to spare you when I killed him, but it looks like I get to have some fun, after all these years," he confessed eagerly, a red-tint in his eyes though they couldn't see it. The arms attempted to strangle him, but he batted them away as though they were children, taking pleasure in the fact Ms. All-Sunday flinched when he broke one of the arms hand, and the others disappeared right afterwards.

"Kill me? And how do you propose you'll do that?"

"Like this; _Reza no Ha_!" he shouted, flicking his hands towards the Shichibukai, who didn't move at the apparent show of power. Until, of course, he noticed the stairway now had a three-foot-wide gash in it, and was approaching him, Vivi and Ms. All-Sunday, making him jump back, only to narrowly avoid a ground-breaking punch, which sent the two females in two different directions, Vivi down the stairs, while All-Sunday was thrown into the hallway leading to the room. Throwing something to Vivi, who managed to catch it, he barked at Vivi to open the cage and get everyone out of the casino, and that he'd meet up with them later.

Seeing Vivi run down the stairs, Crocodile tried to prevent her from carrying out her objective, but was stopped by Naruto throwing his water-bottle at the Shichibukai, who wisely retreated, not wanting to figure out if the blonde could defeat him with water. Tense minutes passed while they were at a standstill. Naruto wouldn't budge to let him have his way with Vivi, and Crocodile couldn't let her leave Rain Dinners untouched, but it seemed that would be impossible with Naruto standing guard.

He was shocked, then, to hear the ring of a snail, which made the oddest sounds, in Naruto's opinion, and answered it. Naruto was going to ignore the call until he heard Sanji's voice on the Den-Den Mushi, which he heard the name of moments earlier, who seemed to be doing something to distract Crocodile, which worked after hearing someone fight against Sanji, giving the distinction of the cook being shot. It would seem he decided to save some face, and Crocodile left without a word, disappearing in a cloud of sand while Ms. All-Sunday looked torn.

On one hand, she could leave and follow her employer, or she could stay and attempt to join the motley crew. She was jolted out of her thoughts by Naruto shaking rather violently for a second, but he relaxed and stood up-right, massaging a sore muscle from the fight, and muttering something about a "bastard fox" under his breath.

"Oi, where'd your boss go? And why didn't you go with him?" he asked, finally taking note of the situation. It seemed the room had flooded up to a few steps, effectively disabling Luffy and some tall Marine captain that was in the same cage as them, though Nami, Usopp, Zoro, and Vivi didn't seem that fazed by the water, aside from Usopp's over dramatics.

She was silent, while the others watched the scene in silence, even Luffy was seriously watching what unfurled before their eyes. This wasn't supposed how it was to work out; she was to get to the Poneglyph _then_ she would deal with Crocodile. Not the other way around. "What is your name, boy?" it was a distraction tactic, one she hoped she could take advantage of.

Naruto raised a suspicious eyebrow, but answered her anyways, "Uzumaki Naruto. And yours?" he asked.

"Her name is Nico Robin, a known criminal to the World Government," the Marine pipped up, earning Naruto's attention.

"Is that so," he trailed off, as though he were in thought.

"**Protect her, she is important,**" Kyuubi told him without any pretense, taking the blonde by surprise. Usually it was Naruto who initiated the conversations, and when Kyuubi did start them, he was usually more polite.

'Why? What's so important about her?'

"**I don't have the time to explain right now, as it'd be wise to get as far away from Rain Dinners as possible at the moment,**" it was curt, something new to the blonde, who nodded mentally.

"Well, Ms. Nico Robin, what will you do? Will you stay by your boss's side, despite knowing my power, or will you make your own decisions?" Naruto questioned inquisitively.

"She will be coming with me to Marine Headquarters, brat," the Marine interrupted her response, earning a raised eyebrow from the Jinchuuriki.

"Is that so? How do you propose you do that, one Marine against five pirates and a member of Baroque Works? Even with a Devil Fruit, you'd be severely out-numbered since you can easily be covered in water, which would negate your Devil Fruit," as if to prove his weakness Naruto rushed the Marine, who unsheathed a large pole-like sword, avoiding the tip like it were a glowing poker. He wasn't an idiot to know it wasn't a typical weapon, and had no intention of finding out what special properties it held. The sword seemed to be a ploy, however, as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and gripped Robin's left arm tightly, holding the tip of the sword against her body.

"I have no qualms of killing her, if only to get rid of another criminal in the world, so unless you wish to see her blood on your hands, stand down, brat," he ordered, though Naruto looked at him coolly, a red-flare dancing in his eyes as he rushed the Marine again, this time moving faster than anyone in the room could track, forcing the weapon away from Robin and into the ground, grabbing the man by the throat tightly.

"Give me one reason to not rip your throat out, dog. You spout nonsense like she's carrying a fucking demon in her womb, but without any proof or evidence _why_ she should be given up. I'd suggest your tongue loosens unless you wish to have an 'unfortunate_ accident_'," Naruto snarled while the others paled at his show of force. While they hadn't known the boy for long, he was never this temperamental, and never this brutal, though they admitted they had never seen him fight before either. It was a question they'd ask after this whole thing was done with.

"She's a survivor of the island of Ohara, who were trying to revive the ancient weapons to destroy the world," at that statement it seemed like time-stood still as Naruto released his grip on the mans neck, and it seemed like time speed up as he drove his fist through the wall behind him, destroying it utterly and causing the room to shake as water-pressure started to crush it from lack of proper weight-distribution.

"You've been given a second chance, thanks to my captain. Cross our paths again, and you _will_ be killed on sight, whether or not your on our crew," the boy growled, lacking the previous red-tint, watching as the Marine walked away, knowing he had no chance against the boy. Said captain had a serious look on his face, while watching Naruto massage his fist to get feeling back in it.

"What was that, Naruto? What was with your anger?" he asked simply, slightly concerned about the boy.

"...I'll explain when we have the chance. Not right now, as the rooms about the collapse from my lack-of control," he apologized subtly, clearly sorry they had to see that. He had no problem with the Kyuubi, but he felt that by slipping into one of the moments when Kyuubi seized control while they were watching, he might scare them away.

"**Idiot. They're much more intelligent than you give them credit for. They knew you had a Devil Fruit before arriving here, and knew something was up while we were traveling. It couldn't be avoided, however, so you best come up with some good excuses,**" Kyuubi admonished the teen, who didn't look happy with the idea of making up lies.

'I don't plan on telling them lies, fox. I've told enough as it is, and more lies will just get them more suspicious, which in the end will end badly.'

"**Then what do you plan on doing? Cause you understand nothing about how the seal works, and without knowing the specifics-**"

'Shut it. I'm not in the mood to deal with your condescending bullshit today,' Naruto snapped, obviously fed up with Kyuubi for the day, who was quiet. Breaking away from the mental talk, the fox couldn't help but feel glad that the boy was learning some form of self-sufficiency, even if it was through manipulating his feelings.

"Come on, Robin. You can tag along with us, we'll protect you," Naruto grabbed the womans hand, who stood over six-feet and towered over the blonde, though he didn't pay it much attention. He was young, so he was supposed to be short. In a few years, he predicted he'd be much-taller, and better looking to boot. Though Vivi looked shocked at Naruto's comment, everyone else seemed indifferent, though the black-haired woman was still in shock from his show of power against the Marine.

After escaping the sinking casino and meeting back up with Chopper and Sanji, who'd been playing decoy with Crocodile, they were on the out-skirts of Rainbase, where Chopper stood on a large crab dubbed "Scissors" by Nami, and climbed atop the crab, who would take them to Alubarna. On the way to the capital, Robin filled them in on what would happen within the city, leaving no detail out. While she was supposed to still be working with Crocodile, something about Naruto's detail about protecting her, however subtle, stood out and made her reconsider her position in Baroque Works. No doubt she would be killed by the end, if she stayed, along with everyone else, but she had accepted that when she had joined the group, knowing Crocodile trusted no one, and was planning on offing her after finding this countries Poneglyph.

What she didn't realize, however, was joining the Strawhat Pirate crew by the end of it all.

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A/N: As I said, chapter 3's well underway, and should (keyword here) be posted within a week or so. The plotline will not include Skypeia (didn't particularly like that arc), but a small string of unrelated events will fill the void till they reach Long Ring Island, which it will follow the canon-storyline for a while, including Aokiji, Water 7, and Enies Lobby. Next chapter will be setting the stage for more or less the rest of story, starting with aftermath of the Alubarna assault, then Mock Town, then whatever else I come up to explain some of situations surrounding Naruto's appearance in One Piece-land. Oh, and for some of those wishing for ninjas in One Piece -land; prepare for a couple bombshells that no one but myself could foresee ;P


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: No excuses for this not being uploaded on time, aside from hitting a wall at one point and leaving it be for 2 months. Review responses at the end.

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'Bah, this doesn't make an ounce of sense to me, fox. Are you _sure_ you were able to use my fruit that way? Could it have been something so hidden that even _you_ didn't know what you were doing at the time?' Naruto felt a headache coming on, and he didn't like the look of things, sitting in the room for hours on end with no human contact, though that's what he initially planned anyways. Now he was hoping for some form of distraction to take his mind off of things.

"**Of course it doesn't make sense to you, the theory is far more advanced for you, or anyone else without demonic-like intelligence. If condensed enough, even paper can become a steel-like defense, so why not feathers? It's just common logic, or at least to me it is,**" Kyuubi admonished slightly while ignoring his other comments.

It was a week after the thwarting of Crocodile's plan to take over Arabasta, and Naruto was tucked away in a secluded room in the Royal Palace, being a guest of honor for the King, along with the rest of his pirate friends. In the next few days they would be leaving, not wanting to bring any negative political turmoil to the recovering country, though it didn't affect Naruto in the least. After digging deep enough, he was able to remember part of what Kyuubi had done to the Shichibukai in Rainbase, along with his supposed mastery over his Devil Fruit, making him wonder why he was being held out on.

"**I'm not holding out on you brat. Simply said, even if you had mastery over your fruit, you couldn't use it with such effectiveness as I could, because you wouldn't have a clue on how to start training to achieve such results. Start small, like finding a more effective way of exploiting it's main use, defense, and turning it into a offensive technique as well. I refuse to hold your hand on something so trivial, so don't bother asking me to teach you things, cause I can't teach what's natural to me,**" the fox snapped upon Naruto's inquiry, who felt he'd crossed an unspoken line. And for the last week, he'd spent all waking, and occasionally sleeping, hours holed away in this room, trying to find any, _any_, use for his Devil Fruit, but had come up empty, forcing him to ask Kyuubi for even a vague hint. He was willing to accept whatever help the fox gave him, as long as it could help point him in the right direction.

A small ship-like analogy later, he was firing off thoughts a mile a minute, wracking his brains for any possible defense-and-offense techniques, and even resorted to talking with one of the Royal Guards, who had a bird Devil Fruit, on any application feathers could have in offensive-combat. Pell, the Royal Guard, suggested a more refined defensive technique, and refining it to the point that it because very solid, and incidentally, steel-like, allowing for good defense, and possibly better offense. Like a kid in a candy store, Naruto gulped down the theory, and after thanking Pell, went back to the room to dwell on how to apply it.

Hours later, he was left with nothing, and Kyuubi was of zero help as he kept telling the blonde to "think and listen", which left him more frustrated than anything as he didn't know what he was trying to hear anyways. The other Strawhats noticed his anti-social behavior, but when confronted, he told them he wasn't being anti-social, but trying to use his Devil Fruit effectively. While not a lie, it deterred a few of them from bugging him, though Robin, the newest Strawhat, did visit him daily, distracting him from turning his brains into liquid meat, and offering suggestions on applications, having a similar problem when she first received her fruit nearly twenty years ago.

The oldest member of the Strawhats was an enigma to Naruto; she seemed open and easy-going when talking to him, but when he dropped a personal question, she just gave him an odd smile and changed the subject. He wasn't going to call her on it, since it'd be hypocritical in his eyes, however it was annoying when he wanted to get to know her on a personal level, since they would be sailing on the Grand Line in the distant future. Kyuubi was of no help either, though Naruto would have been surprised if he was.

"**I don't know a damn thing about the woman, except her importance to the world. She is vital to this world, her death will only bring about the death of millions,**" he told the blonde cryptically, telling him where to shove it after Naruto tried to get more information from him, "**Anything I tell you **_**will**_** fly over your head, and only she would be able to understand a bit of it. So until you comprehend her importance, you won't learn **_**why**_** she's so important.**"

The door opened, and Vivi walked in, holding a candle along with a plate of food, making the Jinchuuriki look up at the princess. "I figured that since you're in this stuffy room working day-in, day-out, you'd like some food and maybe some company," she explained at a raised eyebrow, though he put down the pencil he'd run down to the end, and push the paper to one side.

"Thank you, Vivi," he thanked her, deciding to take a break. Maybe being in the room was affecting his thought process, and getting out and getting some fresh air would clear his mind, let him tackle the problem with fervor. Kyuubi merely snorted at the thought, but left the blonde to his devices.

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_ Two Weeks Later_

A blade came from the left, forcing Naruto to dodge to the right while choosing not to counter. It would be a waste of bullets, and consequently money, to shoot him, and he wasn't in the mood the beg Nami for money, not that she'd give it to him granted. The older female held her money more important than the safety and well-being of the rest of the crew at times it seemed, and he would rather try water-walking in the middle of the Grand Line in the nude than attempt to get money for supplies he could easily pilfer from other pirates, which he planned on doing.

After dodging the blade a third time, the attacker found himself rescued by a swarm of hands, which quickly disabled his movements and forced him to drop his weapon and writhe on the floor trying to remove them. He would have thanked Robin for the assistance if not the for sudden dodge he did to avoid a knife attack, which look a bit too fast for a run-of-the-mill pirate, watching the assailant attempt to feint and strike Naruto when he took the bait, while the attacker was shocked he the blade didn't pierce his skin, and even more shocked when Robin disabled him easily, until he changed into a log.

At that point Naruto felt all ease and laziness for fighting disappear. Against pirates he felt he didn't need to fight since all he could do at the current moment was use his pistol with varying degrees of success. Ninjas, were a whole different story, even if he didn't know exactly _how_ they got onto the Grand Line. Closing his eyes he attempted to ignore the sounds of the rest of the crew fighting, focusing solely on his nose, which thankfully had it's sense heightened a good deal, and focused on finding an unknown scent, which was a shot in the dark since there was plenty of unknown scents that he hadn't gotten used to yet.

Smelling the sea approach him, he dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding a large gust of wind that could have taken off his limbs, if not for his Devil Fruit, though he watched the attacker carefully. It was a female, taller than him with dirty blonde hair that looked familiar, though he couldn't remember any of the blonde ninjas he'd met during his time in Konoha. In her grasp was a large battle fan, which bore a resemblance with someone who was often seen with Gaara, during the handful of times they had met, the last time being during the attack on Konoha. Now if only he could remember her name...

"Nice dodge. Bet ya can't do it again," she commented, readying her fan for another assault, while Naruto almost told her she was right in that he couldn't dodge it again, and was surprised when Naruto ran at her suicidally, but continued her attack, wondering if the gust of wind was strong enough to remove his limbs or not. Despite being a ninja, she didn't appreciate the site of unnecessary bloodshed, and preferred for quick and relatively painless deaths, though she figured her growing up with a psychotic brother would make her indifferent towards blood. The blast of wind hit his body, and surprisingly didn't remove his limbs, or anything else for that matter.

Instead Naruto seemed unaffected by the wind, which he was obviously, as he plowed throw it while aiming his pistol at a non-vital area and pulling the trigger. If Gaara was around, and his guessing was right, then it wouldn't do to kill his sister, especially if he was surrounded by water which immediately put him at a disadvantage. Less than a foot from Gaara's sister, the bullet was blocked by a wall of sand, making Naruto release a breath he was unconsciously holding in, making him place it in a holster on his belt, that he'd conveniently found on the dead body of a Millions in the aftermath of Crocodile's assault and figured the guy wouldn't be missing it, being dead and all.

Looking around he noticed that his nakama were having issues piercing the sand, indicating the battle while Naruto searched for the red-headed Jinchuuriki.

"Uzumaki Naruto," a calm voice called out from behind Gaara's sister, revealing the red-head dressed in what Naruto figured was the stereotypical outfit for a pirate captain sans the fancy hat, and he looked strangely older, not to mention taller, making him wonder if Gaara went through puberty overnight since he'd departed from Konoha.

"Gaara," he greeted the apparent captain, who walked out from his sisters shadow and facing the teen. Turning to his sister, he told her to take their injured to the sick bay for treatment, and she obeyed it, though she didn't seem to have a fearful look as she did when he met her last, making him wonder just how much time had actually passed since his killing of Sasuke, since he figured something like being scared for your life didn't pass overnight.

Luffy, seeing the two supposedly having a conversation, walked up to them asking Gaara 'who the hell you are' while making a comment about the sand it's disappearance, and asking who he was again, despite Gaara not having the chance to answer him initially. After explaining that they were friends, and he wished to talk to Naruto in private, Luffy lost interest, instead taking it in Gaara's brother, who was currently tinkering with his puppets now that the battle was over.

As they stepped inside his captains quarters, which he noted was quite expansive and had a large amount of sand moving to and fro, he motioned for Naruto to sit down in a chair that formed itself out of the ground.

"Tell me Naruto, where have you been these last three years?" Gaara didn't want to beat around the bush, and it was apparent as Naruto sat down, confusion playing on his face.

"Three years? What are you talking about Gaara?" internally he felt Kyuubi shuffle about, as though he were suspicious about something the red-head had said.

Gaara gave him an odd look, but remained quiet for a moment, thinking over his words carefully. "Three years ago, just shortly after your fight with the Uchiha, a barrier surrounding the Elemental Continents was broken, and we were invaded by a group calling themselves the World Government. At the time I was unaware of their plans, and the exact reason why they invaded, however from my travels I have learned much of their actions, and possible reasons why they invaded the Elemental Continents. Tell me, have you ever heard of something called Pluton?" at Naruto's shaking his head as a negative, he continued, "Neither had I. Until, of course, we were chased after Marines, who seemed to be bounty hunters hired to track down pirates and bring them to justice. When they tracked down and forced to battle, I interrogated the highest ranking soldiers, two captains, and all I got out of them as the word 'Pluton' before I killed them. Afterwards I found out a bounty had been placed on my head, a total of 40 million, for 'actions against the World Government', which drove me to digging up any information retaining to Pluton, where I eventually found someone who knew a good deal about it, while we were harbored in the country of Arabasta," a look of recognition crossed Naruto's face, as some of the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

"She called herself Ms. All-Sunday, didn't she," it was rhetorical, but Naruto wanted to make sure he was thinking of the same person as Gaara was. Gaara seemed slightly surprised, but didn't voice why Naruto knew that name.

"Yes, she did. She happened to know a great deal about the weapon, and it's creators, although she never elaborated on why or how she knew that information, always changing the subject when I asked politely. While we were anchored there, she offered me a position in her organization, Baroque Works, but I declined, stating I was not looking for money, or even fame. Just knowledge. Not surprisingly she attempted to kill me, but failed, and I let her live. I do not know why I spared her, if she were any other person I would have slain her on the spot for even thinking about killing me, but I felt she was important to the future, and was just misled at the moment, you could say I did what you did years earlier. We left shortly there after, and sailed to the land of Jaya, in hopes of getting more information, when we stumbled across you and your crew," Gaara told the story of his trip in Arabasta, giving Naruto more insight in why she was so seclusive and quiet about her personal life, while also giving him hints on why Kyuubi dubbed her important and why she should be protected.

"Then your attack on us was to ensure we weren't Marines in-disguise?" he asked, thinking that was why the red-head attacked them.

Gaara chuckled, "No, we attacked you so I could possibly get a larger bounty, and attract stronger Marines to get more information out of them," Naruto paled at the shot-in-the-dark tactic Gaara employed, but didn't say anything.

"You've met Ms. All-Sunday, haven't you, Naruto," it was a statement, not a question, but the blonde answered anyways. "What is her real name then?"

"Nico Robin," a feminine voice answered for the blonde, while Gaara and Naruto turned to face the intruder, revealing the older female, who looked at the two inquisitively. Naruto seemed at ease, but Gaara was tensed slightly, ninja-instincts kicking in and resisting the urge to squash the intruder.

"What are you doing here, Robin? This was meant to be a private conversation," Naruto rudely questioned the woman.

"The captain wished me to tell you we are departing for Jaya," she said simply, her odd smile gracing her features making Naruto at unease. Gaara simply watched the two in silence, noting her odd posture and smile. She stood as though she were in a formal situation, and not one between crew members, though he didn't voice this to Naruto. Standing up and stretching, Naruto turned to his fellow Jinchuuriki.

"See you in Jaya then?" he asked, while Gaara merely nodded confirmation. "See you there then," Naruto said walking out of the red-heads cabin. Maybe he would have some time to himself to think things over, though he had a sinking feeling he wouldn't. Jumping onto the Going Merry, he saw that most of the crew had made themselves scarce, feeling glad that he wouldn't have to answer their questions, at least not right now. Deciding to make himself scarce as well, he walked down into the mens quarters, and laid down in his hammock/bed, trying to go to sleep but failing, instead staring blankly at the ceiling while trying to digest the information.

'Three years? Has it truly been that long since my fight with Sasuke? If so, then how long was I in the water, how long since I started this journey?' Kyuubi decided to leave the blonde to his own thoughts, though he too was sifting through the information he got from the sleep-deprived Jinchuuriki, to find anything of use. Naruto, meanwhile, was going over the memories he'd acquired since his fight with the Uchiha, trying to figure out how he could have floated in the sea for three years without succumbing to the elements and dying.

"**I believe I have the answer for that question, brat,**" Kyuubi pipped up, catching Naruto off-guard, under the impression the fox would leave him be, as was per their agreement; Naruto keeps out of his mind, Kyuubi keeps out of Naruto's unless it has something for him.

'Which is...?' he asked, curious on how he survived three years in the elements without being found by anyone. He knew the Grand Line was treacherous, but he also knew plenty of pirates traveled it, so it was inevitable that he be found, sooner than later he would assume.

"**Do you recall when you were sealed by the snake? During those exams where you met the red-haired Jinchuuriki?**" at Naruto's mental nod, it continued, "**Well he didn't succeed in cutting off the seal's ability to leak my power to you, a small bit did continue to leak, however it was less than usual. My power operates differently from your chakra, while you die if you have none left in your body, it will not affect my movements in the slightest if I'm bone-dry, while it would kill you if you had no chakra. The seal placed on my power at the time of my sealing was designed to have your body absorb my power, to let you use it in time. It's been doing that for the last fifteen years, however the amount leaked fluctuates, and it's a one-minded power. If you sustain a wound, it will focus on that wound until it's gone, if you aim it at a powerful foe it will keep pumping it until the foe is dead, and so forth.**"

'So then, because I was floating in the sea for three years, it focused more on healing my wounds?' Naruto asked, letting the information sink in. If not for his Fruit, he could have taken advantage of the power, but now it would do nothing more than keep him from being hurt, not that it would be much help anyways.

"**Yes, and no.**" Naruto said nothing, which Kyuubi took as a good thing, "**Yes, it focused on healing your wounds, and then it focused on your health, and keeping you alive, albeit in a coma. It kept you alive, but stunted your other bodily functions, like your growth, hunger, and such.**"

'Doesn't explain why no one found me in the three years though, since you'd think that even the Marines would find me,' Naruto stated, frowning as he tried to wrap his brain around the situation surrounding him in the sea.

Kyuubi gave a mental shrug, though to Naruto it looked like he was just shifting his weight, "**I have no answer for why you weren't found, just how you survived. Maybe after more deliberation, I might, but not at the moment. I do suggest tuning into the real world however, since you have a guest.**"

Naruto sat up, eyes landing on the oldest member of the crew, who he had pledged his life to protect, though he still didn't understand why. She looked at him with that odd smile on her face, one that held no joy, similar to the ones he would wear as a kid, but had since grown out of the habit, while leaning on the table in the middle of the room, intentionally, or unintentionally, exposing her considerable bust and cleavage, not that Naruto noticed.

"Can I help you, Robin?" he asked, slightly miffed at her eavesdropping from earlier but not letting it influence his attitude. For all he knew, she caught the last part of their conversation while going to tell him that they were leaving. He didn't exactly blame her even if it was intentional, since he was going into the cabin of a relative stranger, but it was the matter of the fact that made him miffed.

"I wanted to talk about what you and that captain discussed, about Pluton," she said in a commanding tone, though the smile was still on her face, making Naruto raise an eyebrow at the strange command. She was a strange one, that was for sure. Not many demanded information with such pleasantries, unless they were using an interrogation technique that only the ANBU had, but he doubted the ANBU had such a word in their vocabulary.

"Don't know what you heard, or misheard, but we didn't discuss a thing about Pluton," it wasn't exactly a lie, since Gaara had admitted he knew nothing about it, but wanted to know something. It just so happened that most of the answers originated from Robin, who was tight-lipped of just about everything. "However, I'd like to hear what you know, since you're the expert on the subject, being an archaeologist and all." It was a shot in the dark, he would admit, but it might help him figure out who she really was, underneath it all.

If she was fazed by the statement, she didn't show it as she remained silent while smiling, though Naruto had a hard time trying to decipher what was going on underneath the smile, hinting that she'd been hiding behind it much longer than Naruto had.

"What makes you think that I know any thing on the subject of Pluton, Naruto?" she asked finally, her voice calm, and her tone pleasant with a hint of curiosity. "I just...wished to inform you that talking about Pluton is against the law of the World Government, punishable by death. It wouldn't do to have a boy with potential to die before his prime, now would it?" she continued, though Naruto was visibly spooked by the information.

Kyuubi shifted mentally, like he was struck with a sudden realization, from her tone and choice of words. It had been a long while since he'd last heard someone use the tone, almost 800 years in the past, back to when he found himself on the planet, before heading towards the Shinobi Continents.

"**Ohara... So you live as the rumors said you did, running from the kingdom before the World Government rose to power... Interesting**," he trailed off, dwelling on the explanation for why Robin was important. "**A descendant of the scholar named Ohara... You seem to attract quite the bunch, brat. The descendant of a scholar from a long-dead kingdom, a Jinchuuriki similar to yourself, and Kami knows what else. I wonder who you'll attract next**," he continued, earning Naruto's undivided attention.

"Ohara," unconsciously Naruto let the word slip, though he noticed a second later that Robin seemed slightly phased, as she shifted in her seat slightly, again drawing attention to her cleavage. Her smile seemed less prominent, though it still graced her features, though Naruto took this as a good sign.

"This knowledge about Pluton is known but to a few people in the world, excluding you and myself, less than five people would know it, and it would be suitable for it to stay that way. It was designed by the Ancient Kingdom, with the potential to supposedly wipe out a single island with one shot, though there's no recorded proof of it's abilities, or even if it does exist. All information are on stones scatted across the world, called Poneglyphs, which also contain information on the Blank Century," she was quiet for a minute, to let Naruto digest the information she gave to him, and answer any questions he might have.

"Blank Century? What's that?" he asked, not surprisingly, though she noted a curious tone in his words.

"I'm unsure myself, however it is rumored to lead up to the founding of the World Government, though they've banned any inquisitions into it, and any seekers of that knowledge are executed on the spot," she answered, starting to relax slightly, judging from her posture.

"If they Pluton could wipe out a single island in one shot, wouldn't it ensure victory to anyone who had it in their possession? It'd seem a little foolish to create something that couldn't be countered, or at least in my opinion it would be," Naruto stated, hand on his chin thinking of why they would make a weapon of such power, without a way of beating it.

"There was a way to counter it, however I'm unsure of how, as it's just a rumor I've picked up in my travels, however I've heard the World Government executes those who search for that as well," she admitted with a slight sigh, watching Naruto intently as he tried to absorb this new information. The bit about the World Government killing anyone who tried to find information about these weapons shook him slightly, as he couldn't understand why anyone would stop their people from discovering something they could use to their advantage, but then he never really understood why the people of Konoha hated him despite not being the the Kyuubi.

"**There's a significant difference between the two. The World Government seems to treat the people with some form of dignity, no matter who they are, aside from the pirates of course. The sheep of Konoha treated everyone but you with dignity, often going out of the way to make your life worse indirectly, although never in an obvious way. At least here the World Government lets you die with dignity, while the sheep wouldn't, if they had their way with you,**" Kyuubi interjected.

'Do you really think they would have killed me, given the chance, with no significant repercussions?' Naruto questioned, not believing it.

"**That, I couldn't tell you. Is it possible? Yes. But it's also possible you would have tapped into my power at a much younger age and wouldn't be in the current situation, so I cannot say exactly what would happen.**" it ended the small conversation with retreating deeper into Naruto's mind, leaving him to his own devices.

"How do you know all this Robin? I know you're an archaeologist, but this seems to be a well-hidden nugget of information, and not easily obtained if what you say is true about five people knowing it," Naruto asked, noting she tensed slightly, and her smile faded from her face.

"It...is not something that I wish to talk about at this time. I mean no offense Naruto, but I do not feel comfortable enough to share it. Maybe sometime in the future, but not at the current time," she apologized, before standing and leaving the room through the door that lead to the female quarters, while Naruto just sat at the table, debating on what she told him.

"**Do not hound her about it. She will tell you when she's ready. Bugging her about it could lead to her isolation, which would put you back where you started when she joined. I do suggest you get some rest, I feel we'll be arriving at Jaya soon, and it would do well to meet the red-haired Jinchuuriki in tip-top shape, in case we get cornered by the World Government and it's lackeys,**" Kyuubi input, stating the obvious to Naruto, though he didn't say anything about it. It would do well to get some sleep, since he lost a good amount in Alabasta due to his research.

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A/N: Chapter 3 done, though behind schedule. Short chapter due to Jaya being a big turning point in terms of plot and it'd take forever to get this chapter out if Jaya was included. Review responses follow this A/N.

T.O.B: Transformation? If you mean him getting "help" from Kyuubi, well it happened in Chapter 2, and will happen a few more times throughout the story. He won't rely on it, since he's striving to be more self-reliant. :P

chm1: I didn't show where he got it, because it would have been a pointless filler scene, which I don't like writing. But, he found it hidden in a chest near one of the Strawhats camps while they were travelling towards Rainbase. Doesn't make the most sense, yes, but then Shanks leaving the Gomu Gomu fruit out in the plain veiw didn't make sense, since he's a Yonkou and such. :P Where he got he it doesn't really affect the plot, hence why it was excluded.

phantomshadowdragon: Akatsuki will play a significant factor in this story, as will the other Jinchuuriki. In fact, one of them will be showing up next chapter. :P As for Naruto's friends, well they're all scattered across the Grand Line and the 4 Blue's, so some will show up, while others won't. Can't say who because that'd ruin possible plot points. :)

QuandraDraconum: I'll keep that in mind. FFN sometimes screws with the page-breaks I have in place, but I can go over the previous chapters and make sure it cuts away at the right time. Thanks for letting me know so it doesn't become an issue later on.

Hiroshima Namikaze: Pairings might not exist. Unsure at this point, though there will be some bonding with Naruto and other characters. Nothing romantic planned, though that might change. Ninja techniques are a moot point for Naruto, since he can only use Rasengan, Kawarimi, Kage Bunshin, and that's about it, which are pointless with his Devil Fruit because of what it does.

Jombra: Care to elaborate? I'm interested in what you have to say, and maybe I can write a better explanation for my reasoning later on.

Thanks to all who reviewed, and I promise to not take two months on the next chapter. )


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